Vacuum cleaning apparatus



March 10, 1959 c. E. STOICOS VACUUM CLEANING APPARATUS Filed Nov. 27, 1957 FlG.l

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7 l I g r INVENTOR. v Cozzszfazztfzzef Status FlGB-a ATTORNEY United States Patent VACUUM CLEANING APPARATUS Constantine E. Stoicos, Glen Burnie, Md.

Application November 27, 1957, Serial No. 699,322 3 Claims. (Cl. 20061.6)

This invention relates to vacuum cleaning apparatus comprising parts for permanent installation in the walls flowing through said hose and said conduit and into the discharge flue to the collecting receptacle at the outlet end thereof.

Another object of the invention is to provide at the inlet end of each conduit of the system a bushing or socket so constructed that the end of a flexible hose can easily be inserted into said socket, to couple the hose to the system; and having means by which, upon the insertion of the end of the hose into the socket, the exhaust blower is at once caused to start revolving and keep revolving as long as the hose remains in full coupling position.

A further object is to provide a vacuum cleaning system with branch conduits connected at one end to a common discharge flue, and each having at its opposite or inlet end a bushing or socket in the wall of floor of an enclosure, carrying the terminals of a switch and an element to close the switch, said element being engageable, when the end of a hose is properly inserted into the bushing, to actuate said switch and complete the circuit of an electric motor connected to the exhaust blower located in said flue adjacent the outlet end thereof.

The embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawings which illustrate one or more forms of the invention, and the novel features are pointed out in the appended claims; but this disclosure is explanatory only and variations in numerous structural details may be made without departing from the principle underling the invention.

On said drawings,-

Figure 1 is a plan of the conduits and main discharge flue with blower, motor and deposit receptacle at its outlet end, and indicating the various compartments or rooms in an enclosure for which the system is installed.

Figure 2 is a sectional view of the inlet end of one branch conduit of my vacuum cleaning system, said conduit being attached to a fitting or socket in a wall or floor of an enclosure, and showing a flexible hose having a coupling sleeve at one end to be inserted and secured in said fitting.

Figure 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of Figure 2.

Figure 3a is a rear view of the socket or bushing.

Figure 4 is a side elevation of another type of inlet sleeve or bushing.

Figure 5 is a longitudinal section of the last-named bushing.

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Figure 1 indicates the general plan of a house or other structure 1, having inside and outside walls 2, which make an enclosure with a number of rooms and floors 3. An exhaust flue 4 has a branch conduit 5 leading to each room, and each conduit has at its inlet end a socket or bushing 9 mounted in an upright wall or horizontal floor with its end flush with the surface thereof. A blower 6 operated by an electric motor 7 creates a draft in the flue 4, which discharges into a collecting bin or receptacle 8.

The socket or bushing 9 at the inlet end of each branch conduit 5 is rigidly connected to'thc conduit and is embedded in a wall or floor 3 of the enclosure 1; and the flexible hose 10, has a metal sleeve 11 atiixed toone end, and is adapted to be coupled to the socket 9 whenever the cleaning system is to be used. The opposite end of the hose will carry a suction nozzle or brush (not shown) of the usual construction and the hose can, of course, be detached from any socket 9 and carried from room to room. When the sleeve 11 is inserted into the bushing 9, it is secured by a retaining stud 12 inside the socket 9, entering an L-shaped slot 13 that has an inner angled portion 14 at its inner end extending a-short space around the sleeve 11, so that when the-sleeve 11 is turned in the bushing 9, the portion 14 of the slot and the stud 12 engage each other, and keep the hose properly coupled to the socket 9. The slot 13, of course, opens through the outer end of thesleeve 11. p 1

On the outer surface of each socket 9 are mounted a pair of switch terminals 15 and 16 secured at one end in insulation 17 and to these terminals are connected the electric leads 18 of the electric motor 7 of the system; The several circuits for the branchconduits will, of course, be in parallel to the main leads of the motor so that when a switch is closed at any one pair of" the terminals 15 and 16, the motor and blower go into oper ation. The terminals 15 and 16 are elastic metal blades which are set so that they are separated, but one can be pushed into contact with each other by a slidable switch stud 19 disposed in an opening in the bushing-9 and freely movable so that when this stud or element 19 is pushed outward, the terminals 15 and 16 will be actuated into circuit-closing position. i

The sleeve 11 has a longitudinal groove 20 indenting its outer surface, and extending inward from the outer end and parallel to the groove 13, and so located that this groove 20 will register with the stud 19 when the sleeve 11 has the slot 13 in line with the retaining stud 12. If the studs 12 and 19 are at the same distance from the ends of the bushing 9, then, as the sleeve 11 is inserted into the bushing 9, the stud 19 will not be actuated because of the depth of the groove 20, and the stud 19 will have. relative movement in this groove 20, which extends along the sleeve 11 from the outer end thereof as far as the portion 14 of the slot 13. At that point, it communicates with another indented groove 21 that ex tends transversely a short space around the sleeve 11 and is as deep as the groove 20, so that when the sleeve 11 is turned to cause the stud 12 to enter the portion 14 of the slot, the switch stud 19 is still not actuated. At the extremity of the transverse groove 21, there is a short length of shallower groove 22 connected by a-slopiii'g portion 23 with the groove 21. Hence, when the sleeve 11 is turned into final locking position, the shallower groove 23 will push the switching stud 19 outward and cause the terminals 15 and 16 to engage each other.

With this construction, the circuit of the blower will not be closed until the sleeve 11 is fully inserted into the bushing 9 and turned to full locking position. Until such locking position is attained, the circuit of the blower will remain open, because the shallower extension groove or prolongation 22 is very short, but the switch I?) stud'19 will not be impelled outward until this groove 22 engages the stud 19. This takes place about at the same instant that the stud 12 reaches the inner end of the transverse slot 14.

To enable the operator to see that the parts are in this relation, projection 24 may be attached to the sleeve 11 at the end encircling the hose and a suitable mark 25 will be placed on the flange 26 of the bushing 9 to show when the parts are in fully locked and circuit closing relation. The operator will thus be enabled 'to couple the hose to any socket 9 of the system without fully engaging the sleeve 11 and bushing or socket 9, at first, until the hose 10 is properly equipped with the suction nozzle desired and reaches into the apartment to begin the cleaning operation. Then, the final twist is given to the sleeve 11, the sleeve 11 is securely locked in the socket 9, and the stud 19 closes the circuit to cause motor and the exhaust blower to begin rotating.

The switch elements 15 and 16 are elastic strips of metal, embedded at one end in the insulation 17. This insulation is shaped to provide a recess 27 adjacent the fixed end of one strip 16, in contact with the stud 19 so that when the stud 19 is pushed outward the switch element 16 is more easily bent up to touch the element 15. The stud 19 has a head 29 and in contact with the element 16, and a rounded inner end 30.

The bushing 9 may have an internal shoulder 31 at its outer end with hinge 32, lugs therein matching similar lugs on a closure 33 which fits against the shoulder 31 within the bushing 9 and closes this bushing when this particular bushing is not in use. This closure may carry a lock 34 with a bolt 35 which will slip into a slot 35 in the bushing 2. The lock may be opened and closed with any kind of a key lock, and when the system is to be put into use at any one of the bushings 9, the closure will be unlocked and dropped so that the sleeve 11 and socket 9 can be coupled together as above described.

Having described my invention, what I believe to be new is:

1. Vacuum cleaning apparatus for an enclosure, comprising an exhaust conduit, an inlet bushing installed in said enclosure, said bushing having one end open and exposed in said enclosure, and being connected at its opposite end to said conduit, insulated switch members normally carried by said bushing on the outside thereof, a movable element carried by said bushing adjacent said switch members; a flexible hose having a sleeve at one endto be inserted in the open end of said bushing, and coupled thereto; the sleeve on said hose having one extremity open and a relatively deep groove extending longitudinally thereof from said open extremity towards said hose and terminating short thereof, and a relatively deep groove extending circumferentially of said longitudinal groove and communicating with the longitudinal groove at the inner end of the latter, said circumferential groove having a relatively shallow circumferential prolongation at its inner end to actuate said member when the sleeve on the hose is in fully coupled position, said bushing having a stud inside and said sleeve having an L-shaped slot with longitudinal and transverse portions to receive said stud and be secured in the bushing by turning the sleeve till the stud enters the transverse portion of said slot.

2. Vacuum cleaning apparatus for an enclosure, comprising an exhaust conduit, an inlet bushing installed in t; said enclosure, said bushing having one end open and exposed in said enclosure, and being connected at its opposite end to said conduit, insulated switch members normally carried by said bushing on the outside thereof, a movable element carried by said bushing adjacent said switch members; a flexible hose having a sleeve at one end to be inserted in the open end of said bushing, and coupled thereto; the sleeve on said hose having one extremity open and a relatively deep groove extending longitudinally thereof from said open extremity towards said hose and terminating short thereof, and a relatively deep groove extending circumferentially of said longitudinal groove and communicating with the longitudinal groove at the inner end of the latter, said circumferential groove having a relatively shallow circumferential prolongation at its inner end to actuate said member when the sleeve on the hose is in fully coupled position, said bushing having a stud inside and said sleeve having an L-shaped slot with longitudinal and transverse portions to receive said stud and be secured in the bushing by turning the sleeve till the stud enters the transverse portion of said slot, said shallow prolongation and said element being so located relative to said stud and slot that the prolongation does not actuate said element when the stud is stopped before it reaches the inner end of the transverse portion of said slot.

3. Vacuum cleaning apparatus for an enclosure, comprising an exhaust conduit, an inlet bushing installed in said enclosure, said bushing having one end open and exposed in said enclosure, and being connected at its opposite end to said conduit, insulated switch members normally carried by said bushing on the outside thereof, a movable element carried by said bushing adjacent said switch members; a flexible hose having a sleeve at one end to be inserted in the open end of said bushing, and coupled thereto; the sleeve on said hose having one extremity open and a relatively deep groove extending longitudinally thereof from said open extremity towards said hose and terminating short thereof, and a relatively deep groove extending circumferentially or" said longitudinal groove and communicating with the longitudinal groove at the inner end of the latter, said circumferential groove having a relatively shallow circumferential prolongation at its inner end to actuate said member when the sleeve on the hose is in fully coupled position, said bushing having a stud inside and said sleeve having an L-shaped slot with longitudinal and transverse portions to receive said stud and be secured in the bushing by turning the sleeve till the stud enters the transverse portion of said slot, said shallow prolongation and said element being so located relative to said stud and 'slot that the prolongation does not actuate said element when the stud is stopped before it reaches the inner end of the transverse portion of said slot, and the transverse groove receives said element when the stud enters the transverse part of the slot, and said prolongation actuates said elemerit when the stud reaches the end portion of said slot.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,096,138 Stearns May 12, 1914 1,700,538 Grant et al. ian. 29, 1929 1,729,364 Schwier et al. Sept. 24, 1929 2,443,743 McNabb June 22, 1948 2,596,210 Cogshall May 13, 1952 

